Hilling Sweet Corn with my D-B 5 hp. Special

   / Hilling Sweet Corn with my D-B 5 hp. Special #1  
D

DJ54

Elite Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2009
Messages
4,227
Location
Carroll, Ohio
Tractor
IH Farmall 656 gas/ IH 240 Utility/ 2, Super C Farmalls/ 2, Farmall A's/ Farmall BN/McCormick-Deering OS-6/McCormick-Deering O-4/ '36 Farmall F-12/ 480 Case hoe. '65 Ford 2000 3 cyl., 4 spd. w/3 spd Aux. Trans
I don't seem to see too many pics of D-B's actually at work, so posted a few of my D-B 5 hp. Special in the garden hilling sweet corn. She's not a trailer queen, she was built to work..!! :)

Hilling Corn 002.jpgHilling Corn 003.jpgHilling Corn 005.jpgHilling Corn 007.jpg
 
   / Hilling Sweet Corn with my D-B 5 hp. Special #2  
Very cool. How many acres of corn do you have?
 
   / Hilling Sweet Corn with my D-B 5 hp. Special
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Acres..?? Just the 15 rows showing, and they are about 80' long. 3 varieties planted at the same time, with 10-15 days between maturity dates. Hopefully they will not cross pollenate..!!
 
   / Hilling Sweet Corn with my D-B 5 hp. Special #4  
I'm curious to know the benefits of hilling corn. Is it just to help prevent blow-over?

Thanks,

Spindifferent
 
   / Hilling Sweet Corn with my D-B 5 hp. Special #5  
Interesting...
I just saw a walk behind "tractor" like yours get rebuilt on the TV show "Ricks Restorations".
 
   / Hilling Sweet Corn with my D-B 5 hp. Special
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Spindifferent said:
I'm curious to know the benefits of hilling corn. Is it just to help prevent blow-over?

Thanks,

Spindifferent
Click to expand...

For me, just a little extra dirt for nurishment, moisture retention, and cover the weeds between the plants. Saves a LOT of hoeing. Once corn gets too tall to cultivate with the D-B, it usually shades out most of the in row weed growth. I then use my little Choremaster single wheeler to cultivate between the rows.

I have another cultivator I'm using this year with 6 little sweeps that does a super job between the rows. I like to get the weeds just at the tiny 2 leaf stage. And that all depends on the moisture we get. But do cultivate at least once a week, to keep up with them. Plus, adds a minute amount of nitrogen back into the ground from the weeds composting.

As far as blowover... Maybe in real sandy earth it may prevent it. But here in the loam soil, the stalk will bend before it uproots. Seems every few years we have a large wind come out of the NW ahead of a big storm, and flatten the sweet corn. It will bend about 8-12" above the ground, and lay it down. The sun will try and draw it back up, and usually the top 1/3 will. It still makes ears, just have to bend over a bit more to pick it... :)
 
   / Hilling Sweet Corn with my D-B 5 hp. Special
  • Thread Starter
#7  
HarryN said:
Interesting...
I just saw a walk behind "tractor" like yours get rebuilt on the TV show "Ricks Restorations".
Click to expand...

That may be the show others were talking about, on a D-B forum I belong to... They were saying a fellow offered him $12,000.00 for the little tractor. I may have to let a few of mine go (I have 14 of them), if he offered that money to me..!!
 
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